News: 2011 Canadian Election: Who Let The Dogs Out? (R)

There's another side to this, which is that Canadian political parties are highly centralized. In Congress, it's not only permitted but expected for a representative to vote against his party's own legislation if it harms his constituency -- for example, a defense appropriations bill that closes a base in his district. In Canada, that will get you kicked out of your party's caucus. The Bloquistes believe none of the "federalist" parties will stand up for Quebec's unique concerns. The NDP has done a good job this time around convincing Quebeckers that although they won't support outright Quebec independence, they will support Quebec values enough to merit their votes.

Yikes. Liberals will be forced to merge with NDP almost at this point. What's the liberal equivelant in the states? Are they they conservative Democrats whose voters slowly all moved to the Republicans?

This is exactly how Chretien won majorities by splitting the right vote between the Reform/Canadian Alliance and the old PC party. This time, the NDP surge to all-time high in seats, the disappearance of the Bloc and the Liberals all add up to a Harper Majority he's been asking for.

Gilles Dusceppe is also losing his riding, possibly leadership and possibly his party's period of influence is over. Au revoir, good riddence, good night! Bloc only have 2 seats right now with most polls closed.

Good for Elizabeth May too to get back into mainstream attention and in Parliament.

The NDP just became a lot more Quebecois. They pretty much replaced the Bloc and are truly a national party - this is a massive development, for the first time in 23 years a federalist party has had a majority in Quebec.